The Freedom of the Will: Christian Classics Series

Having graduated from Yale at the mere age of seventeen, Jonathan Edwards is ranked among America's most pre-eminent philosopher-theologians. Edwards wrote Freedom of the Will in 1754 while serving in Massachusetts as a missionary to a native tribe of Housatonic Indians. In this text, Edwards investigates the contrasting Calvinist and Arminian views about free will, God's foreknowledge, determinism, and moral agency. As Edwards attempts to resolve the contention surrounding these topics, he relies on a variety of textual resources including the Bible and philosophy works of enlightenment thinkers. This book can be challenging due to Edwards' emphasis on philosophical reasoning, but Edwards strives to educate his audience by frequently defining confusing terms and explaining controversial passages in depth. Freedom of the Will is relevant to every Christian because it addresses difficult questions about desire, choice, good, and evil.